Harry Potter: Mechwarrior Vol 1
by MrBasildonboy
Summary: COMPLETELY A/U! The First of a six-part series set in an alternate timeline in which the Battletech Universe comes back in time and attacks modern-day Earth. Hogwarts falls to the invaders, but Harry Potter escapes, promising to return with help...
1. The Boy Who Escaped

CHAPTER ONE:

The Boy Who Escaped

**Twelve miles east of Exeter, Devon, UK**

**Saturday, October 3****rd**** 2007, 1515 hours**

It's been over a month now; a month since he had escaped what had become a prison; a prison under the sadistic rule of a traitor. He had tried to keep a low profile, but in the end, he couldn't stand it. He decided to try and escape, and, by several strokes of luck, he had. And now, here he was, on a road, littered by the debris and the markings of war.

The sixteen-year-old boy still could not understand what was happening. First there was this nonsense about wormholes being reported in the papers, then sightings of these huge spacecraft landing in areas across the world, Europe, America, Asia, and Africa. But he first took notice when these ships opened and, like something out of an H.G. Wells novel, came this huge, man-like, walking machine, which started shooting everything that moved with lasers, missiles, cannons and various energy weapons.

As more of the ships landed, more machines of various shapes and sizes appeared, and operating in groups across the globe. Almost every military force that was sent against them was wiped out, with little or no loss to the invaders. Eventually, cities across the world began falling to the invaders.

It was during this chaos that one of the invading armies came to the place he had called home, led by a huge silver man-like machine with a skull-like head and a blue trim. Very soon, the place was under their control and everything changed. Some fought the changes, and were quickly silenced. Those who embraced them became willing tools of the occupying force, and the boy and his friends were powerless to stop them.

But now, he was free, free from that place, from the tyranny, the evil and the darkness. And, after his escape, he had found himself wandering around in a world of darkness, desperation and strife. Everywhere he had gone; he had seen devastation, death, fire and anguish. He hoped that this would not be visited upon his home before he had a chance to return home with the help he had promised them.

So far, he had found no one and nothing at all that could help him, just wrecks of military vehicles, ruined villages, towns and cities. He even came across dead bodies, torn and twisted like rag dolls. These reminded him of the human tragedy that was being suffered all across the world, wherever the machines and their armies were.

As the boy walked along the road, he saw over the trees the upper torso of one of the walking machines that now stalked the Earth. He froze as he watched this metal monstrosity stomp its way toward the north, the direction from which he had come from. As the machine disappeared from view, he heard the sound of rockets whooshing from overheard.

He looked up and saw two streams of missiles fly through the sky in the direction of the machine. There was a quick succession of loud explosions from where the machine was, signifying that it had been hit by the missiles.

The boy looked round to the hills behind him to see a tall spherical machine with two huge missile launchers protruding out of each side of the head. The thing was walking down the hillside on two bird-like legs that stomped along the ground, generating a booming sound with every footstep. Before the boy could move to the trees behind him, he heard the sound of cannon fire emanate from the other machine's direction, and the ground exploded by the legs of the attacking machine.

This occurrence of the invading war machines fighting each other was nothing new. During the invasion, for what seemed like strange reasons at the time, up to three groups of machines and escorting vehicles attacked each other with brutal abandon. It was this type of event that caused the destruction of London, Newcastle, Glasgow, as well as dozens of other cities and towns throughout the world. The reason why they did was not known to the boy at that time.

As soon as the boy finished collecting his thoughts, he dived off the road and dashed through the undergrowth. Behind him, the sounds of a battle started to roar out. He looked round and saw that the spherical machine was now attacking its opponent with lasers, before following with another missile salvo.

As soon as the missiles left the launchers, one of them was blown by a cannon blast, before its main body was hit by missiles from the opposing machine. The bird-legged titan machine started walking backwards along the road, firing its lasers as it went. The boy watched with muted fascination as the opponent appeared from his right, allowing him to see the thing clearly.

That machine was about half-a-metre taller than the bird-legged spherical machine, standing on man-like legs, its torso not unlike a man's chest, with what looked like the bridge of a warship's sitting on its left shoulder and a hexagonal missile launcher on the right. It also had to arms which reached down to the machine's waist before bending forwards, aiming straight ahead.

The boy could see that the man-like machine was the much better armed as it continued firing at it's attacker with lasers, machine guns, cannons and missiles, which reduced the bird-walking sphere to a smashed hulk, from which something shot from the top of it, leaving a trail of fire and smoke that reached high into the sky. He watched it continue to streak into the sky until there was a burst of sparks and out popped three small parachutes and what was evidently an escape pod began to float gently toward the ground. However, as it did, a red laser beam permeated the air, striking the pod, which shattered into tiny fragments of metal and whom or whatever was piloting the machine, which now toppled over onto the undergrowth to it's left with a metallic 'boom' and the sound of metal and glass breaking.

The sight of the bird-legged machine's overthrow created a feeling of hope in the boy's heart. It was not the first time he had seen one of those towering metal giants brought down by another giant. He had heard other such occurrences, as he journeyed south from where he had escaped from.

He continued to watch as the victorious machine turned and headed back the way it had come during the fight, and moved away toward the north. As soon as it was out of sight, the boy emerged from his hiding place in the trees and crept out onto what had become a battlefield. He stepped gingerly toward the defeated machine, curious to see what was inside the hole left behind by the escape pod's ejection. As he crept closer to it, the sound of machines' feet came booming from the west. The boy turned and saw that two machines were approaching the site.

He didn't have time to have a long look at the newcomers. Instead, he rushed to the overthrown metal monster and dived into the hole. Inside, he found himself in what looked like some sort of futuristic cockpit, with blank television screens, various buttons and controls, all of which he was unfamiliar with. He also noticed that the front of the cockpit was dominated by a huge windscreen, not unlike that on the cockpit of an aircraft.

"Well, I could have picked a better hiding place." The boy said to himself, before returning his attention to the approaching machines, unsure as to their identity.

* * *

First Lieutenant James Hatton first heard of the 'Mech battle as he was patrolling the area near Exeter, a city held by House Davion, one of three invading armies that had taken over the planet and were now battling each other for dominance. Upon hearing the report from a recon squad about a 'Mech battle in progress, he, and his patrol partner, Corporal Lisa Gold, deviated from their patrol route to investigate.

James, or Jim as he was known to his friends, was twenty three years old, and had joined the British Army following his escape from London during the collapse of what had become called 'The Old World'. He was part of the unit which led a raid on a camp belonging to another of the invading armies, House Steiner. This resulted not only in the capture of several of their machines called Battlemechs, but the acquisition of valuable intelligence of their invaders.

As a result of that raid, Hatton's unit, the Royal 'Mech Force was formed and he wound up being the pilot of a Bushwhacker, a captured medium-sized Battlemech which stood at a grand height of nine metres. It was a somewhat ugly machine, with the main body not unlike that of a modern attack helicopter. The 'Mech had two arms which protruded from the side; the left arm reached outward then dipped down diagonally into a bulky weapons pod, whilst the other arm was fully horizontal, but had a cannon casing, which, too, was bulky.

It wasn't ideal, but it was the best the Royal 'Mech Force had at that time. And now, Jim piloted the 'Mech across the fields toward the battlefield, the bird-like legs underneath the machine propelled it through the long grass toward what was the A382 heading south towards the village of Easton, which was long deserted and long devastated. As he surveyed the scene, his eyes came across the wreck of a Catapult, a heavy support 'Mech with twin LRM launchers with pulse lasers and a large beam laser for weapons. This type of 'Mech belonged to House Liao, the third of the three invading armies that had conquered Earth. He could tell by the green triangle with a samurai sword on the machine's hull.

"Whoever took that thing down, picked it apart, Paladin." Gold called in over the radio, calling Jim by his call-sign.

"Copy, Echo-2" Jim replied, looking over at her 'Mech, a Hunchback, a medium a man-shaped metal monster armed with a cannon, an SRM launcher and an assortment of lasers. "Stay alert, whoever did this might be close by."

"Copy," Gold responded over the radio.

Jim returned his attention to the sensor screen in front of him to see whether the Catapult's destroyer was still in the area, and he found that he was, and he was heading right for them.

"Uh-oh!" he said, reaching for his helmet mike. "Echo-2, light 'em up! We've got an incoming bogey!"

"Got him! Man, he's fast! He must be doing 80!"

"Probably a light! You know how fast they can…" He paused as the enemy smashing out of the trees. He immediately recognised it from the intelligence they captured on that raid. "Thor! Davion Thor!"

"Engaging!" Gold responded, as she opened up with her Hunchback's cannon, quickly followed by red laser beams.

Jim pushed forward on the throttle and turned the torso on his Bushwhacker to face the Thor. Immediately, he pressed the missile fire button on his joystick and two streams of missiles shot out from the launcher above and to the left of his machine's cockpit. He quickly followed by a shot from his autocannon, which impacted on the enemy 'Mech's leg.

The Thor returned fire by firing its dual cannons, both shot hitting Jim's machine in the torso. Sparks flew inside his cockpit, some hitting him in the face, causing him a little burning sensation. A quick look to the damage monitor to the right of the joystick showed that the left half of the torso had received 50% damage.

In response, Jim pushed his throttle to half speed and moved forward, still facing the Thor. He began circling around the enemy, firing off his pulse lasers and cannon. His idea was to keep moving to avoid being hit by incoming fire from the Thor.

"Echo-2, circle around him, hit him with everything you've got." He called into his helmet mike.

"Roger, Lead." Gold replied, and she manoeuvred her Hunchback to begin circling the machine, whilst having her torso twisted toward their opponent so that she could keep shooting at the machine.

This tactic, as well as the combined firepower of both Jim and Gold's Battlemechs began to take its toll on the Thor, blasting its right arm off, followed by its missile launcher. The firing continued until a well-aimed shot hit its chest and it fell to the ground with bright white beams of light bursting from the torso. Jim recognised this as a sign that the 'Mech's reactor had been ruptured and it was going to explode.

"Echo-2, get clear, get clear!" He called out, hoping that his partner could get clear.

Gold spun her Hunchback around and engaged her jump jets, sending her 'Mech leaping into the sky on a train of fire and smoke, whilst Jim set his Bushwhacker in full reverse, trying to get as far away from the enemy machine, which ripped itself apart in a massive explosion, sending bits and piece of itself everywhere.

As shards of metal rained down all across the battlefield, Jim looked round for any sign of Echo-2. He was glad when he found her Hunchback standing tall in the undergrowth beside the wreck of the Catapult.

"Any sign of any more bad guys?" Jim asked his squad-mate

"None that I can see, Paladin. We're clear." Gold reported in over the radio.

"Acknowledged." Jim replied, before switching frequencies on the radio. "Command, this is Paladin, receiving?"

"Go ahead, Paladin," came the response over the radio.

"We're at the battle site now; it looks like it's over. I can confirm one Liao Catapult down. It looks pretty battered, but based on it's condition, I'd say the pilot ejected and left the machine more or less intact."

"Any sign of whatever took out the Catapult, Paladin?"

"Yes, sir, while we were investigating, a Davion Thor ambushed us. We took some damage, but we took it out."

"Is the Thor salvageable?" Control asked him.

"Negative, reactor exploded upon impact." Jim answered, "I reckon the Salvage Section can get a few weapons out of her, maybe a few bits of armour but not much else. The Catapult, though, looks more or less intact, looks like we might have another addition to our collection."

"Alright, we're despatching Salvage in there now to see what we could use, E.T.A. one-five minutes. Suggest you hold your position and await further orders."

"Roger, Command. Paladin out."

Jim closed the channel, before swivelling around his 'Mech's torso to face the downed Catapult. As he looked at the wreckage, something caught his eye inside the opening at the top of the 'Mech. He flipped a switch on the left hand console and a zoom-in window appeared on his forward cockpit window. Inside, he saw a shadow moving inside the machine. Jim switched the radio frequency to that his squadron.

"Gold, this is Paladin. There is someone in that thing."

"Are you sure?" His patrol partner replied.

"I saw something move in there." Jim replied, looking at the opening. "Form up on me, Echo-2. I'm powering down."

"Sir?"

"I'm taking a look in there." He said, as he started flipping the switches to power down his 'Mech's fusion reactor.

* * *

The boy watched as the machine powered down and bowed its head, the high-pitched sound of the reactor shutdown entered his ears. He saw the cockpit visor open up, which caused him to dive further inside the wreck of the machine he was in. He didn't know what to expect, and so reached into his right pocket and pulled out a small pocket knife, ready to strike whom or whatever was coming toward his hiding place.

He watched the opening with great fear, unsure of what was going to peek into the cockpit of the wrecked machine. Eventually, a shadow appeared by the opening, aiming what looked like a rifle of some sort dead at him. The boy immediately sprung into action, launching himself at the shadow, knocking the man over.

The boy tried to rush off, but the man grabbed and brought him to the ground. The two wrestled their way through the undergrowth until the man managed to pin the boy, only for him to receive a punch to the jaw, disorienting him momentarily. The boy struggle some more, but the man pinned him back to the ground and raised his fist, ready to strike…

As he brought his fist up ready to strike, Jim noticed a lightning-shaped scar on his attacker's forehead, almost covered up by the boy's messy black hair. He let go of the boy, saying "What the hell?" for the boy was someone he had heard so much about during his time at school. He was none other than the Boy Who Lived, the famous Harry Potter.


	2. Explanations

CHAPTER TWO:

Explanations

**Baker's Hill, Devon, UK**

**Saturday, October 7, 2007, 1832**

After being taken into custody by the Army, Harry was put in the back of a truck and, guarded by two soldiers, armed with guns; he was taken east, toward Exeter. This was suicidal in Harry's eyes, as he knew that Exeter was, undoubtedly, under the control of one of the three armies battling for control.

Finally, after about an hour's travel, the truck stopped and rear of the truck opened. The two soldiers took Harry by the arm and frogmarched him out of the truck onto a cold hill, overlooking a darkened village, and the hill was covered in tents, with several of those huge machines, kneeling down and dark, like the hill. Harry realised that these machines were powered down.

As Harry surveyed the scene, a man wearing an olive-green jumpsuit, came up to the soldiers holding him. The man was no more than fifty and had greyish dark hair. Harry figured that this man had to the leader.

"What do we have here, Corporal?" The man asked.

"Civilian, sir. He was found in some 'Mech wreckage near Easton." One of the soldiers answered. "He attacked Lieutenant Hatton, sir. He ordered us to bring him back here for interrogation."

The man turned his eyes to Harry. "Kid, you should know better than to attack a member of the Her Majesty's Army." Harry remained silent, not wanting any more trouble. "Put him in the detention tent."

"Yes, sir." The Corporal responded, and yanked Harry by the arm towards a lone tent on the outskirts of the camp. There, she was pulled inside, and sat down on a wooden chair in the centre of the tent, where he felt a cold sensation of his wrists. Harry realised that he was being handcuffed to the chair. After he was secured to the chair, the two soldiers left and Harry was left alone.

He remained sat there, in the chair with her arms behind her back and cuffed to the chair for what seemed like an eternity. Every now and then, Harry peered out of the tent flaps to try and see what was going on outside. However, all that he saw was the grass outside and a bit of dark sky. Harry knew that this was all he was going to see of the outside world for the duration, and so he made himself comfortable.

After about a quarter of an hour, twenty minutes maybe, the tent flap flew open and in came a stocky-built man with a dark-haired crew cut, dressed in the same olive-green jumpsuit that had been worn by the machine pilots that had captured him. Harry noted that the man was holding a tray, with a steaming bowl of soup and a jug of water sitting on top of it.

The newcomer placed the tray on the floor in front of the chair, before moving behind Harry's chair. He felt a tug on his handcuffs, signalling that he may be unlocking them.

"Alright, I'm letting you off the chair, so you can eat." The man spoke in a Scottish accent. "But you have to promise me that you're not going to try anything, ok?

As he felt one of the cold-steel cuffs being removed from his right wrist, Harry looked up at the man, unsure if he could trust him. For all he knew, these people could may well be part of one of the three armies invading Earth. But, as the smell of the soup entered his nose, he realised he had to give his word he would not try to escape, so he could eat. Harry nodded to the soldier, silently giving his promise.

The soldier took Harry by the arm and led him off the chair and gently made him sit on the floor. There, Harry picked up the spoon from beside the bowl. The soldier stood up and headed for the tent flap, but turned round to keep an eye on the boy as he ate, and make he didn't try anything.

Harry took huge mouthfuls of the soup and, within a few minutes, all that was left was an empty bowl.

"Well, you must've been hungry." The soldier responded with astonishment. "How long have you been on the road?"

Harry looked up at him, still unsure if he could trust him. "I don't know, about a month, I guess."

"A month?" replied the soldier, who now looked puzzled. "Where'd you come from, then?"

"North…" Harry answered. "Scotland."

"Scotland?" the soldier responded, amazed once more by this boy. "You came all this way from Scotland in a month? That's one hell of an achievement."

"Thanks," replied Harry, as he got to his feet. "I ran away from H…" He stopped himself saying 'Hogwarts' because the man he was speaking to was a Muggle. "From my school," he recovered quickly. "I managed to avoid all the Steiner patrols in and around there, vanished into the woods until I reached a nearby railway and then followed it south. Eventually, I found a Steiner-held town and managed to sneak in. Had to avoid one of their machines that was patrolling in the area, but I managed to get onto a train and ride it as far as someplace called Preston. There, the train came under attack from a Liao machine and I had to jump off. After that, I kept going south along what used the M6 until I came to the outskirts of Birmingham."

"That's Davion territory." The soldier remarked. "And that city's become a real shithole since the invasion. I know that because that's where I wound up with this lot."

"And when I was there, it sounded like there was a massive battle going there." Harry told him. "I decided to skirt around the city to the east and continue on south. After that, it was just a matter of hiking across a war zone and hiding from other machines. I thought I'd try and make it to a friend's house in Ottery St. Catchpole, but I got caught in the middle of that skirmish."

"And attacked Lieutenant Hatton, in the process," said the soldier as the tent flap opened behind him, and in came that same pilot that Harry had attacked back at the battle site. This time, he was without his helmet, and his brown-haired rugged features now revealed themselves. Harry saw that the man was unshaven, meaning that he had probably been out in the field in his metal monstrosity

Upon seeing the man, the soldier stood to attention. "Sir!"

"Carry on, sergeant. I just wanted to speak to the boy, that's all." The pilot explained.

"Very good, sir. I'll leave you to it." The soldier replied, pushing the tent flap open and leaving the tent.

For a few seconds, the man looked at Harry with a stern expression on his face, before giving away a smile of respect. It was clear to Harry that he may not have been in as much trouble as he thought.

"You gave me quite a scare out there, kid." He finally said to him. "In fact, from what I heard from outside, you were very lucky to get this far without getting killed."

The guilt of his foolish actions began to gnaw at Harry's conscience. "I'm – I'm sorry, sir. I thought you were a hostile, I was scared you were…"

"I know, Harry. I know. And I don't blame you." The pilot responded. "I've already talked to Colonel Hendricks and I've advised that I won't be pressing charges. I've told him you were just a scared civvy in the wrong place at the wrong time."

However, Harry was staring at him in muted curiosity. "How do you know my name?" He demanded.

The pilot smiled at him, reassuringly. "The scar on your forehead," he pointed at it. "I recognised it while we were struggling in the undergrowth."

Harry watched with confusion as the man walked up to the tent flap and looked out of it for a several sections, before opening up a pocket on the right breast of his olive-green jumpsuit and pulled out what looked like a wand. The sight of this caused Harry's jaw to hit the floor, as the pilot aimed thw wand at the cup on the tray.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" He quietly uttered, and the cup lifted off the tray and, thanks to his careful movements, gently levitated the cup over to Harry, who took it in his hands. Once his demonstration was completed, the pilot lowered the wand and smiled.

"You're a…" Harry gawped in a mixture of surprise and awe.

"Hogwarts class of 2001." The pilot explained. "I left the year you arrived. I was quite an accomplished chaser for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team."

"Really?" asked Harry.

"Yes, I was." the pilot replied, putting away his wand. "Even Professor Dumbledore, bless him, said I was very good." He smiled as he offered his hand to Harry. "Hatton, James Hatton."

Harry moved forward to take the hand and shook it. "Harry Potter."

James' face then took on a worried expression, his mind obviously on something dear to him. "I heard you say you escaped from your school, what's happened? What's happened to Hogwarts?"

There was a gloomy look on Harry's face as he returned to the chair and sat down on it. It was evident that the news was not going to be good.

"Hogwarts has fallen."

Hatton's jaw fell at the news. "What? How?"

"Dolores Umbridge." Harry responded. "In the early days of the invasion, she made a deal with House Steiner. She brought the enchantments and wards protecting Hogwarts and allowed House Steiner to just roll on in. She installed herself as Headmistress, had Dumbledore and Hagrid arrested and thrown in the dungeon, and allowed Steiner troops to garrison the castle."

All of this news made James sick to the stomach. That vile woman, who had caused so much damage to wizarding community via her manipulation of the Ministry of Magic, had now betrayed her own people by making a deal with an hostile force so she could assume a position of authority. He had seen from the wizarding media that Umbridge was a power-monger who was willing to stop at nothing to get what she wants. And now she had crossed the line, and there was no going back.

"How could she? I mean, Hogwarts was supposed to be undetectable to Muggles. I mean, how could Umbridge do this?"

Harry looked up at him and said, "All she cared about was getting control of Hogwarts again. Nothing else mattered to her. She claimed she did what she did to save us, but we all knew that wasn't true. Of course the Slytherins didn't care. They were just happy Umbridge was back."

"I'd bet there was a Malfoy leading that show of support, correct?" James asked out of curiosity.

"How did you guess?" asked Harry.

"Well, the Malfoys do have a reputation of joining the 'winning side'," he observed, remembering the recent events in the Department of Mysteries. "What happened after Umbridge took over?"

"She started re-enacted her old Ministerial Educational decrees, she reinstated the Inquisitorial Squad and cancelled Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons saying we don't need them, that err… a certain Dark Lord has not returned, even though the Ministry only just admitted it to be true. Anyone who said otherwise was arrested by Steiner troops and brought to Umbridge, where she made them do lines with Blood Quills."

A frustrated sigh flowed from Hatton's lips. He had imagined things would be bad, but this was worse. "Looks like Umbridge has gone over the edge. She thinks Hogwarts is rightfully hers and made a deal with Steiner to help her reclaim the school." He began analysing. "But my guess is that House Steiner's only interested in Hogwarts for tactical reasons."

"You're probably right." Harry responded. "A few days after Steiner moved in, they turned a part of the dungeon into their Command Centre. The place is covered by security cameras, heat sensors and motion trackers. You can't get anywhere near it without setting off the alarm. I even tried to get in there under my Invisibility Cloak, but it picked up my body heat and I had to leg it out of there."

"Did they catch you?"

"No, I managed to find a secret passage and get away," answered Harry. "The morning after, Umbridge was helping Steiner troops in searching the castle for other passages and began sealing them off."

"Was that when you decided to try and escape?" James asked.

A shake of the head from Harry signalled to Jim that that was not the time he decided to get out. "I watched as Umbridge and her Steiner friends continued scouring the school for secret passages. Eventually I came to realise that my luck was gonna run out sooner or later, and they'd figure out it was me snooping around and I would have no place to escape through. And so I started planning my escape."

Hatton crossed his arms as he prepared to listen to Harry's escape story. He was sure that it was going to be a thrilling one.


	3. The Escape

CHAPTER THREE

The Escape

**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

**Monday, September 17****th**** 2007, 2129**

Harry Potter had planned his escape for days now, and, as he watched the second hand on his watch reach the number '12', he got ready to get up from his bed. He had had enough, of Umbridge, her insanity, her deals with the Steiner forces that were now guarding the castle, everything that had happened over the past two weeks.

The image of that huge man-shaped machine with a skull-like face stomping slowly across the lake was still etched firmly in Harry's mind. And when he saw the huge army of machines, tanks and other vehicles trail either across the lake behind it, or along the side of the lake, he knew that darker days were coming.

He had tried to live with the Steiner occupation of Hogwarts, but, after seeing one too many friends being victimised by the Inquisitorial Squad, Steiner forces or by Umbridge herself, he decided that he had to get out and, if possible, get help. Finally, as soon as the time reached 9:30pm, Harry made his move.

He grabbed his rucksack and slung it over his shoulder and made a dash out of the dormitory. Outside, Harry quietly put the straps of his rucksack over his shoulders and clipped the waist belt together, before quietly creeping down the spiral staircase into the Gryffindor Common Room.

Once he was downstairs, he made his way carefully over to the small table in the centre of the room. There, he reach into his pocket and pulled out an envelope and placed it on the table, before carefully treading toward the portrait hole.

Harry carefully pulled open the portrait of the Fat Lady, and peered outside onto the Grand Staircase. For a few seconds, he peered out, looking out for Steiner patrols, Inquisitorial Squad members or Prefects. When he found no sign of activity, Harry stepped slowly out onto the staircase, closing the portrait carefully behind him.

As it shut, the Fat Lady whispered "Good luck, Harry." Harry gave her a quick nod before stepping slowly down the stairs towards the third floor. Various portraits whispered to Harry as he went past, either wishing him luck or saying to him 'good riddance.' But Harry didn't hear all of this, as he was concentrating on looking out for Steiner patrols.

About halfway down the staircase, he spotted a set of torch lights coming up the staircase from the Great Hall. Harry realised that this had to be a Steiner patrol and that, if he were caught, he would be taken to Umbridge and punished severely for his attempt to escape. For a moment, he thought he had no chance to escape the approaching patrol when, in a stroke of luck, the staircase he was on began swinging around, changing direction, sending Harry onto a different landing than the one he was going to use.

Upon stepping on the landing, he headed for the next set of stairs and quietly crept down them, only stopping to conceal himself as the Steiner patrol clambered up the stairs on the opposite side of the staircase. As soon as the soldiers were gone, he continued his descent down to the third floor landing, where he entered through the door into the Defence Against the Dark Arts corridor.

The corridor was, as expected, dark, and curved off to the left. Harry quietly crept along it, knowing that Steiner troops, or indeed Prefects or members of the Inquisitorial Squad could appear at any moment and grab him.

Eventually, he came to the spiral staircase that led up to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. And there, at the bottom of the staircase, standing on a pedestal, was the statue of the One-Eyed Witch. After a quick look around for Steiner troops, Prefects or Inquisitorial Squad members, he looked back at the statue and said "Dissendium."

Immediately, the hump on the witch's back opened and it revealed the tunnel that Harry used to make his first trip to Hogsmeade. He hoped that Umbridge hadn't found this tunnel and was lying in wait for him, as he climbed up onto the statue and dived into the hole.

For several seconds, Harry found himself sliding head-first down the hole into the tunnel, before flying out of it into a dark tunnel. He found himself spinning in mid-air until he landed on the ground, with the rucksack on his back cushioning the impact. Harry spent a few moments on the ground, watching the entrance to the passage close up above him. As soon as he was instantly enveloped in darkness, Harry knew that there was now no going back.

He whipped out his wand and whispered "Lumos." In an instant, a light shone from the end of Harry's wand, lighting up the rock tunnel around him as he rolled over onto his stomach and, due to the weight of his rucksack, struggled to get on his feet.

Once he had succeeded, Harry peered down the tunnel, only to seek darkness ahead of him. He knew he had a long hike through the tunnels and he was not sure what he would find in Honeyduke's, a shop in Hogsmeade that was at the far end of the passage. The only way to find out was to make his way into the darkness, with the light from his wand his only guide.

Harry travelled along the tunnel for about an hour, hoping that a Steiner patrol wasn't waiting for him at the end. He knew that Hogsmeade was under Steiner occupation, and that it was heavily fortified by their troops and machines. He had realised that his only chance was to slip out unnoticed.

Eventually, Harry came to the end of the tunnel and found himself facing the trapdoor leading up into Honeydukes. There, he whispered "Nox" to extinguish the light from his wand, before creeping up to the trapdoor and opening it slightly to peer out into the darkened shop.

As he scanned the shop for any sign of Steiner soldiers waiting for him, he caught sight of a flash of light which flowed in from a window. Harry lowered the door back down slightly, to avoid the torchlight that was sweeping through the place. This was obviously a Steiner soldier, taking an innocent look at the sweets in the shop window, oblivious to the fact that someone was in the store. After a few seconds, the torchlight flashed away and darkness enveloped Honeyduke's once more.

A few seconds after the light had vanished; Harry clambered out of the trap door and crawled slowly along the wooden floor, between the aisles of sweets and chocolates, until he found himself at a cross section, where he slowly stood to his feet. Harry peered out through the window to see the high street crawling with Steiner soldiers and small, ugly, bulky bird-legged machines, stalking their way up.

Harry noted that these machines were armed with a huge laser on the starboard side of the cockpit, and a pentagonal missile launcher on the port, and a fin stuck out of the top of the cockpit. He overheard some Steiner troops back at Hogwarts call this thing a 'Razorback'. What it was used for, Harry didn't care; all he wanted to do was get out of there.

He turned and crept slowly toward the back door to Honeydukes, hoping to avoid making enough noise to either wake up Mr. and Mrs. Flume upstairs, or alert a passing Steiner patrol. Luckily, he got to the door without the alarm raised and he unlocked it with the Alohomora spell and walked through it into the darkness outside.

After a quick look round, Harry closed the door and locked it with a Colloportus charm. He then crept silently up to the left hand corner of the building and peered round, and, to his horror, came upon the sight of a 'Razorback' machine stomping toward him. Harry snapped his head back round the corner and waited, with baited breath, to see what would happen. Would the Razorback turn the corner and see him, or would it just stomp by? The answer came a second later, when the Razorback just walked on by the building, leaving metre-wide rectangular foot prints dug into the ground.

As soon as the machine moved away, Harry looked around the corner and saw two Steiner soldiers move along the High street and disappear around the opposite corner of the building. He took this opportunity to come out of his hiding place and creep along the side of Honeydukes, until he reached the corner and peered round.

The two soldiers were slowly disappearing into the darkness, and the 'Razorback' had it's back to him. He tried to see if there were any more Steiner patrols, but he couldn't see much in the darkness, and so, he made the snap decision to risk it and just dashed his way across the road into the alley by the Three Broomsticks.

His body now pumping with adrenaline, Harry made his way to the end of the alley, where he made a quick check for Steiner patrols. Luckily he found none, and he dashed out of the alley and ran across the railway line, which passed the village into the station, and, from then on, Harry Potter just ran as fast as he could toward the hills to the south, slowed only by the heavy rucksack on his back.

**Twenty-six miles south of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

**Tuesday, September 18****th**** 2007, 0700**

The sun had begun rising, turning night into day. Harry had now been walking across the rocky mountainous terrain for almost ten hours now. His mad dash into the hills, the previous night, had gone unnoticed, as there was no sign of pursuit from the Steiner forces. No helicopters, no soldiers, no machines, in fact, Harry had not seen any Steiner troops ever since his escape.

As he clambered up a ridge he had come across, he came into sight of the towering spires of Hogwarts. He figured that his fellow Gryffindors were waking up and getting out of bed right about now. His friends Ron and Hermione would, at that moment, probably be mystified to find that Harry's bed had not been slept in and all his things have gone. He knew that it would now only be a matter of seconds before one of the Gryffindors, Neville, probably, finds the letter, telling them that he has gone to try and escape from Umbridge and her Steiner 'partners'. But, by the time they would read it, Harry was already long gone and had begun his journey South.

He continued climbing up the ridge and when he got to the top, he looked round and looked upon the spires of Hogwarts again. He then remembered what he had also put in the letter he had left in the Common Room.

'_I have not abandoned you'_ He had written. _'Despite what Umbridge that Steiner colonel would say, I have not abandoned you. I'll be coming back, and when I do, I'll bring an army and free Hogwarts. And that is a promise.'_

After he had finished his reminiscence, he gazed at the towers of Hogwarts and said, "I'll be back. I promise." He then turned and continued south.


	4. Making Plans

CHAPTER FOUR

Making Plans

**Baker's Hill, Devon, UK**

**Saturday, October 7, 2007, 2004**

"By the time they realised I was gone, I was already halfway across the mountains. I just continued south, walking parallel to the railway line." Harry continued. "Eventually, I found my way to the outskirts of Glasgow. After seeing that the place was still being fought over by House Steiner and House Liao, I decided to bypass the city altogether. I made way around the western side of the city until I found myself in a place called Netherplace. Steiner was using it as a supply depot, with a connection to a motorway. There were convoys of trucks coming in an out of there all day. I intended to sneak on one of the trucks heading south, but then the place came under artillery bombardment and I decided to get out of there."

"Whose artillery was it?" James asked, curious as to whom or what attacked the depot. With the war that was being fought across the world against the invading armies, he had to be sure which faction attacked whom, as there were various Earth forces scattered across the world, fighting for their very survival against the enemy.

"No idea, I just got the hell out of there. I don't know in which direction I ran, but I eventually found myself in a place called Gabroc Hill. I hid up in an abandoned farmhouse there until the area was clear of Steiner and Liao activity. After that, I continued heading south. After two days, I found myself by a railway track outside of a town called Kilmarnock. The place was under Liao occupation, and there was a supply train coming out of the station, heading south. It was going slow enough for me to jump onto, and so I did. I remained on the train as far as Dumfries, where the rain came up to a Liao checkpoint. I literally jumped off the train as it slowed down outside the city."

"Well, that was pretty risky, riding a military supply train." Hatton told him, folding his arms once more. "You were lucky a Liao soldier didn't see you jump off."

"For a moment there, I thought someone did, because for a couple of days after that, there were a lot of soldiers and machines scouring the countryside around Dumfries. I figured they were after me, but it turned out they weren't. They were looking for a bunch of bandits that was operating up in the hills around the city. They were hitting supply convoys and raiding small bases, they'd even nicked a few of their machines and were using them against them."

The subject of the bandits awakened James' interest. "Did you see any of these bandits?" he asked Harry.

"I tried to find them, but with the Liao patrols I couldn't risk trying to get anywhere near where they were." Harry answered. "In the end, I just continued making my way south; bypassing every town and city I came across. I had a lot more close shaves with the machines the invaders use, but I managed to find my way past them and kept continuing south. Eventually, I found my way to Devon. When I got there, I decided to try and get to Ron's house at Ottery St. Catchpole."

"That's to the west of Exeter innit?"

"Yeah," he answered. "I was about halfway there when I ran into those two machines fighting it out. And I think you can guess the rest."

With the story concluded, James took a step closer to Harry, his mind trying to comprehend all the information he had just heard. The thought of Hogwarts under the control of a hostile force, assisted by a power-mongering witch, had left a dark impression on the young man's mind.

"That's one hell of a story, Harry." he finally spoke. "I can think of a few others that went through what you went through. And from what you said, I can say you did bloody well."

Harry looked up and saw in James' face that he was being sincere. "Thanks, James. I appreciate it."

"No problem." James nodded. "Now I guess you must be tired and all after all that walking. I'll speak to the Quartermaster and get you your rucksack back, and then I'll talk to Colonel Brown and tell him I won't be pursuing any charges. I'll also make arrangements for you to sleep here tonight. In the morning, we'll figure out what to do next."

As he was hearing this, Harry began to believe that the Lieutenant was going to try and help him. This was confirmed by the next sentence he spoke.

"Harry, you made a promise to your mates at Hogwarts. Now, I'm gonna promise you that I will do everything in my power to help you keep that promise." James told him. "That school was once my home for seven years, and the very least I can do is to help the Boy Who Lived free what has also become his home."

Harry smiled as he heard his new friend's vow. For the first time in a month, ever since he escaped from Hogwarts, he felt safe.

* * *

After the two wizards finished their conversation, Jim left the tent and headed toward the command tent, which in the centre of the camp, surrounded by armed soldiers. As he went through the cordon, the soldiers saluted him before letting him through the tent flap.

Inside, Jim found the Colonel standing over a table with a map of Devon, which was covered by acetate sheets with different-coloured pen-ink arrows and details drawn on them. It was obvious that he was gathering intelligence on enemy movements, as he saw the Colonel move green, red and blue arrows around the map.

Green stood for House Davion, the red, Liao and blue was Steiner. From the amount of blue arrows pointing in on Exeter, it became obvious that House Steiner was mounting an attack on the Davion-held city. There were only two red Liao arrow markers pointing away from Exmoor and the south coast toward the city. This meant that Liao was making a push against Davion forces in those areas, but nothing major. The three green markers pointing into Exeter meant that Davion Forces were retreating into the city to make a stand there against both Liao and Steiner.

Upon completing his mental summary of the situation, Jim looked to Colonel Brown, whom was just looking up at that instant. As soon as they locked eyes, they exchanged salutes.

"Mr. Hatton," he began. "It looks like Liao and Davion have their own problems fighting each other, as well as that huge Steiner force to the north. Looks like they mean to take the city, this time."

"Yes, sir." Jim responded. "And if the city falls, Steiner will move into this area and things will get very hot for us very fast."

"Yes, I agree, Lieutenant." Brown nodded in agreement. "I'll have Recon Troop keep an eye on what happens, but I'll bring Alpha Squadron to full alert, just in case." He then changed the subject and looked up at Jim. "What about that kid who attacked you near Easton?"

"Well, it's like I said in my report," he answered. "He was just some poor kid that got caught up in that 'Mech fight. He hid in that Catapult wreckage after it was downed and watched our people take down that Thor. The reason he attacked me was because he was scared half out of his wits and didn't know who I was. For all he knew, I could have been an enemy soldier."

The Colonel listened to the report with some interest. "So he was just some civvy caught in the crossfire?"

Jim nodded.

"OK, I'll have the charges against him dropped and have his things returned to him." Brown nodded. "He can stay here tonight, but he should leave here, first thing, in the morning. This is a British Army unit, after all."

"Actually, sir." Jim replied. "He was heading toward a village called Ottery St. Catchpole, which…" He paused as he leaned over the table to look at the map. "…is here, only fifteen miles south-south-east of our current position."

A frown appeared on Colonel Brown's brow as he looked at the map, and noticed the red arrow that was right next to the village. "It's also on House Liao's southern attack axis."

"I've noticed that, sir." Jim responded. "And when they march through, they'll burn the village to the ground." He looked up at the Colonel with a look of urgency. "Harry, that's the boy's name, says he has some friends who might still live there."

"If there are civilians still living there, then we'd better get them out of there." The Colonel responded.

"Well, sir, there's only one way to find out." Jim said, as an idea began forming in his head. "Is there any chance we can get an idea what forces are due to go through the area, sir?"

"Recon Troop are committed for the moment, but I'll see if I can get Bravo Squadron to spare a 'Mech to scout the area."

"Thank you, sir," replied Jim. "Err, if at all possible, I'd like to borrow a Land Rover and drive Harry down there in the morning." Jim saw the Colonel open his mouth to object. "That is, pending the report from the scout 'Mech, sir."

A reluctant sigh came from Colonel Brown's lips. "Very well, Lieutenant. Maybe that's the least we could do, considering the circumstances. But you make that visit as short as you possibly can. There is a war on, you know."

"Yes, sir, I do." Jim replied.

"Just bring that Land Rover back in one piece, you hear me?" Colonel Brown ordered.

"Yes, sir."

"Dismissed." Brown nodded.

"Sir." Jim saluted, before spinning round and walking out of the command tent.

* * *

After a soldier came by and returned his rucksack, Harry had pulled out his sleeping bag and laid it out on the grass near the rear wall of the tent. He then removed his boots, which had almost worn through due to the month's worth of walking.

Harry lied down and slid himself inside the sleeping bag. As he did, he dug into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled photograph. He opened it up and looked at the moving image of himself, Ron, Hermione and Ginny, smiling away toward the camera. It had been taken a few days before House Steiner had come stomping into Hogwarts.

The promise he had made to them was still firmly etched into his mind. He had not abandoned them, as Umbridge was probably saying right now. He had promised to return, and he will.

With his promise still in his mind, he put the photograph back in his pocket, lied down to, closed his eyes, and prayed that, tomorrow, he could find what remained of the Weasley's .


End file.
